The Indian rupee strengthens at open and is poised to rise on Wednesday, supported by dollar inflows linked to the Jio Platforms IPO and by the Reserve Bank of India's support, though traders remain wary of oil-price risks that could revive pressure on the currency. The rupee is likely to draw support from continued dollar sales by the Reserve Bank of India, which has been intervening around the 95-per-dollar level to boost the currency. The rupee is on a seven-day winning streak. Jio Platforms' initial public offering opens for subscription on Wednesday -- the issue has already drawn robust institutional interest. Bids for the anchor portion totalled more than 30 times the shares on offer. Once shares are allotted, investors can unwind these positions and sell dollars outright to fund their investments, leading to dollar supply. The US dollar remained under pressure on Wednesday after slipping to a three-week low in the previous session, as a dip in Treasury yields and crude oil prices reduced the currency's appeal. Investors have turned to the greenback as an investment haven amid market volatility brought about by war in the Middle East and AI frenzy, partly due to the currency's energy independence. Oil prices eased overnight after touching a five-month high as traders weighed a meeting between the Iranian president and Pakistan's army chief, a US-Iran mediator, against continued Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf. Brent crude futures rose 85 cents, or 0.78%, to $109.64 per barrel as of 0022 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 76 cents, or 0.78%, to $98.58 per barrel.The greenback was ?little changed at 158.33 yen , and was steady at $1.1229 per euro and $1.33735 versus sterling. Still, traders remained wary of the euro as France tackles widespread anti-government protests and a worsening fiscal picture. he Canadian dollar strengthened to a four-week high against its US counterpart on Tuesday, boosted by a narrower gap between Canadian and US interest rates and after Alberta voted by a large majority to remain part of Canada The loonie was trading 0.5% higher at 1.4045 per US dollar, or 71.20 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since September 22 at 1.4033. Among Group of 10 currencies, only sterling posted a bigger gain. Gold prices eased for a fourth session ?on Wednesday as higher oil prices stoked inflationary concerns, while investors looked ahead to next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting for clues on the future path of interest rates. The Bank of Japan will raise interest rates in December to 1.50%, following June and September increases, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll, keeping up a quicker pace in a campaign that started with just one rate rise a year. Rising energy and import costs, worsened by a weak yen and the war in the Middle East, are adding to inflation pressure in Japan, and there are more forecasters expecting at least two more rate rises to 2.0% by the middle of next year. A period of relative stability in the yen, which spent most of the year under crushing selling pressure, triggering interventions from the Japanese authorities as well as the US Treasury, also supports the case for a December increase. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,118.18 per ounce by 0319 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.2% to $4,136.20. The Fed will skip raising interest rates this month and deliver a hike in December, according to nearly all economists polled by Reuters, as policymakers signal patience even as stubborn inflation argues for a tougher response. Expectations of a rate hike at the central bank's October 27-28 policy meeting are as low as 16%, while traders still see a 90% chance of a hike in December. Higher interest rates typically weigh on gold prices because they increase the opportunity cost of holding the metal, which does not pay interest. Among other metals, spot silver slid 0.9% to $57.44 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.6% to $1,638.61 and palladium slipped 1.1% to $1,090.84. www.eforexindia.com......